Easttown board moves on personnel, sewage billing

The Easttown Township Board of Supervisors had a couple of notable personnel changes and began discussion on a possible alteration to the township’s sewage usage policy at this week’s meeting.

As part of the organizational portion of the meeting, Jim Oram was elected board chairman and Marc Heppe was named vice chairman. The positions rotate each year.

The Second Class Township Code provides for each of the five supervisors to receive $3,250 in annual compensation. However, the board again chose to waive its pay this year.

“They are complete volunteers, which is a noteworthy thing, because they put a lot of hours in,” Easttown Township Manager Mike Brown said.

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Michael Eitelman was hired as a new assistant to Brown, who said Eitelman’s information technology background will be utilized in creating more of an online presence for residents. Eitelman will also integrate software designed to increase departmental cohesion.

“Our internal business practices tend to be a little segmented more than what they should be,” Brown said. “So he will look at those and use technology to get productivity boosts so that we can continue to manage the township with the same labor force.”

The board also addressed concerns raised about the township’s longtime outside meter policy for sewer usage.

As a base rate, Easttown residents pay for $120.08 for 10,000 gallons, and $10.71 for every thousand gallons above that. Currently, over 500 residents have a second meter on their property to monitor how much of their total usage goes to irrigation, swimming pools and other non-sewer affecting functions. Those residents can turn in the second meter’s readings on a quarterly basis for a credit.

In 2004, the Board of Supervisors instituted a policy that if the necessary paperwork is not turned in on time, the credit will come at a reduced rate.

“Obviously the folks who miss the deadline or who just forget for an extended period of time, are not pleased when they get that bill,” Brown said. “So the board is contemplating whether to amend that policy, and if they do, what they would like to amend it to.”

Resident Phillip Moyer spoke at the meeting, and said he would like to see the policy changed and have any amendment applied retroactively.

Brown said there is no set timetable for the board to make a decision, but that outgoing board chairman and member Rich Frazier has volunteered to craft a policy for consideration.

“Obviously we’d like to get it solved with some expediency, but the important thing is to get it right,” Brown said.